Decentraland is one of the world’s first decentralized metaverses, which originated as a concept and initial sketches back in 2015. By 2022, it has become the most developed product in this genre. Although Decentraland officially came out of beta testing in 2020, this is only the beginning of the journey, and many elements of functionality, and indeed the concept itself, continue to be added.
What is Decentraland?
The Decentraland metaverse is often compared to other open-world games. In particular, parallels are drawn with Roblox, where you can also create your own alternative worlds and live a parallel digital life. The key difference here is decentralization and the blockchain foundation. Decentraland is managed by the community itself, and decisions are influenced by the participants themselves. In addition, all property in the game is NFT, with much more flexible and reliable monetization opportunities.
Decentraland runs on the Ethereum blockchain and uses the idea of non-fungible tokens to turn absolutely everything in the game into NFT assets — land, houses and buildings, clothing, luxury items, transportation, etc. Even the names of participants are traded. You can reserve a nice name for yourself or simply buy one.
Style
The basic style of Decentraland is moderately futuristic without any noticeable leanings toward fantasy, cyberpunk, or anything else. This world is presented as a kind of improved version of our physical reality, where everything is the same, only with more positivity, entertainment, and everything generally going well.
But that’s if we’re talking about the very foundation and the first locations that the player visits to get acquainted with the game. Further on, there are no strict stylistic restrictions, and dragon-like monsters may well roam certain lands if the landowner so desires.
You can do almost anything here, and that’s the idea. Players can freely travel around the world, see what’s already there, try different activities, participate in events, and communicate with other players.
Territory and areas
The world of Decentraland has finite dimensions. It consists of small plots of land, each measuring 16×16 meters. The game world covers an area of 300 by 300 plots, but it is not a perfect square, as there are 92,598 plots in total.
Each plot has X and Y coordinates on the map
Players can buy plots and do whatever they want with them, placing arbitrary content — objects purchased on the marketplace or products of their own creativity, up to and including entire games of their own design.
Adjacent plots can be combined into estates, which Decentraland residents are actively doing. Since the launch of the metaverse in February 2020, entire districts have been formed, united by a specific theme and style. They serve as points of attraction for players with various interests. Here are some examples of the most developed and popular ones:
- Aetheria. A large district consisting of more than 8,000 parcels. There is a lot of real estate here, all kinds of high-tech facilities, and overall, everything is slightly cyberpunk in style.
- Vegas City. Another super popular area with more than 6,000 parcels. It is truly an analogue of Las Vegas. Casinos, noisy nightclubs, and all kinds of shopping are concentrated here. Colorful events are often held here, attracting top brands and celebrities.
- Dragon City. A special place that harmoniously combines Western and Eastern cultures, including architectural styles.
- Fashion Street. Although it’s called Street, it’s not just a street, but an entire district. The main place for shopping. This is where the stores of real companies are concentrated.
As of the end of May 2022, there are 40 such districts. They are not formed spontaneously, but are managed by the local community itself. It is the community that sets internal rules, determines the direction of the district’s development, and adopts restrictions. There is even a budget for each district, which is also distributed within the framework of DAO management tools.
Events
When it comes to things to do, there is plenty to choose from in Decentraland. Exhibitions, fashion shows, concerts, educational seminars, and training sessions are held periodically — exactly the same as in real life. And this is no longer just a game, but a virtual reality. This is because real brands are involved in organizing the events.
For example, at the end of March 2022, Decentraland hosted a fashion week. The metaverse, in collaboration with the NFT marketplace UNXD, attracted top names in the fashion industry — Dolce & Gabbana, Jacob & Co, Paco Rabanne, and many others. Visitors could immediately choose and buy outfits for their avatars from those shown on the catwalk.
Other events, such as the Mic Drop comedy festival and Boy George’s concert in the Vegas City area, caused a great stir.
There are many similar events held in Decentraland. All of them are announced on a separate project page. As for the frequency of events, it is often excessive. If you visit the page on any given day, you will see announcements marked “Now” or “Today,” and there can be dozens of such events. There are also lulls, but in any case, there are definitely several exciting events happening here every week.
